Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE -
www.HOPE-CARE.org ) founder and leader
of its Global Emergency Operation (GEO) Anthony Marr will be interviewed
by Rick Habgood on CFUV radio for one full hour on
RUNAWAY GLOBAL
HEATING by METHANE (see
www.myspace.com/AnthonyMarr , top video and
www.HOPE-CARE.org ) and his 40-states-&-4-provinces-in-6-months
REBELS
WITH A CAUSE continental motorcycle tour starting June (for itinerary
and route map see www.myspace.com/AnthonyMarr ).

Time of interview: January 6, 2009, 7-8 pm EST / 4-5 pm PST

Radio station: CFUV, University of Victoria, 101.9FM / 104.3 CABLE or
listen online live at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca/listen/listen.html

Please tune in and pass this on

Media Release
for immediate release

Future-Submerged-Cities Tour

Canadian environmentalist ribbon-tags the new U.S.
coastline

and asks American mayors to join the USCM boycott of
dirty Canadian tar sands oil

As of 2006, both sea ice and land ice have been melting much faster
(in 2007 by 3X) than even the worst case scenario projected by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Of special concern to
the mayors and citizens of the cities of coastal states is the melting
of land ice, which has two devastating effects, one local and the other
global.

Local effects:

"The melt down of Greenland's ice cover, for example, will raise the
global sea level by some 7 meters, or 23 feet. This alone will inundate
many coastal cities, including this one," says Canadian environmentalist
and wildlife preservationist Anthony Marr, who is currently conducting a
Future Submerged Cities Tour by road. "While the roads are still above
water," quibs Marr.

"But this won't occur in isolation," Marr continues. "Mountain
glaciers, including the 2000-3000 in the Himalayas, and of course the
Antarctic ice shelves, are melting along with it. So we don't need a
complete meltdown of Greenland ice to raise the sea level by 23 feet.
Conversely, if/when all land ice melts off, the sea level will be raised
by 100 meters or 330 feet, which would submerge entire coastal states,
especially those in the U.S. northeast, east, southeast and south."

Global effects:

Globally, the effect would be even more devastating. "Of special
concern is the permafrost in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic, which is also
melting as we speak," says Marr. "The melt down of the permafrost would
be even more devastating than detonating all the nuclear weapons
simultaneously, plus setting off all the chemical and biological weapons
if you like, becaue it would release into the atmosphere astronomical
quantities of the most dangerous substance on Earth bar none - the
hitherto trapped or frozen methane (methan clathrate). Methane is a more
powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide by far (25-75X), and can
drive global warming into runaway global heating, raising the global
temperature by well over 15 degrees F, which could exterminate over 85%
of all species on Earth."

"In this, carbon dioxide is only the fuse; methane is the bomb," Marr
warns. "This is not just theory. It's happened at least four times
before. The End-Permian Mass Extinction 251 million years ago, for
example, caused indeed by methane global heating which drove the world
temperature up by more than 16 degrees F, wiping out 75% of all land
species and 95% of all marine species within decades. This is a definite
case-precendent, and we are heading the same way."

Solutions?

"First and foremost is to phase out combustion technology without
delay, that is, stop investing in oil and put your money into green
technologies at once," says Marr without hesitation, "and I don't mean
ethanol either, the cultivation of which is destroying the Amazon
rainforest as we drive! The remaining use of the fossil fuels must be
prioritized, top on the list being to R&D green technologies, and bottom
of the list is to fuel lawn mowers and feed the Christmas materialistic
craze."

While visiting the Future Submerged Cities, Anthony Marr will be
meeting with their mayors, asking them for one item of action to help
keep the above calamities at bay. In June this year, the U.S. Conference
of Mayors signed a collective resolution to ban the use of any fuel
derived from the ultra-dirty Canadian tar sands in their city-fleets
(for the exact wording, see the Resolution below this release).

"The tar sands operations, planned for tripling by 2020, have already
wantonly dumped into the environment enough pollutants to have poisoned
the entire Athabasca watershed, causing tumors and deformations in fish
and toxicity in moose-meat, rendering the native peoples cancer-ridden.
While the Exxon Valdez oil spill, puny by comparison, is accidental,
this tar sands monstrosity is deliberate," fumes Marr. "And its
inefficiency is such that 2 units of energy have to be burnt to extract
3 units of energy to be burnt later. What is being planned for the tar
sands over the next decades is an act of suicide, as well as biocide and
ecocide, on the part of our species."

In July, Anthony Marr flew over the 6 current tar sands mines for 1.5
hours and videoed them from above. He urges all to view his new footage
and read his comments, and arrive at a conclusion for themselves - see
www.YouTube.com/AnthonyMarr .

1. WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has previously adopted
strong policy resolutions calling for cities, communities, and the
federal government to take actions to reduce global warming pollution;
and

2. WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has declared that climate
change could have severe economic and environmental impacts on U.S.
cities in the coming decades; and

3. WHEREAS, the production and burning of conventional fuel such as
gasoline, and diesel by motor vehicles, contributes to air pollution,
and increased carbon dioxide emissions that have been linked to global
climate change; and

4. WHEREAS, the health of the planet, including its oceans, wildlands,
rivers, air, and climate, faces increasing threats from our continued
dependence on fossil fuels; and

5. WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has previously adopted
strong resolutions to encourage clean, renewable energy sources and
discourage our dependence on fossil fuels; and

6. WHEREAS, the production of fuels derived from unconventional
sources, such as tar sands, liquid coal, and oil shale, emits even
greater amounts of global warming pollution than conventional petroleum
sources; and

7. WHEREAS, the production of tar sands oil from Canada emits
approximately three times the carbon dioxide pollution per barrel as
does conventional oil production and significantly damages Canada's
Boreal forest ecosystem--the world's largest carbon storehouse; and

8. WHEREAS, the continued production and purchase of these
higher-carbon unconventional or synthetic fuels slows the United States'
transition to clean, renewable energy sources,

9. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors
supports federal legislation that prohibits government use of
unconventional or synthetic fuels, such as tar sands, liquid coal, and
oil shale, with lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions greater than fuel
produced from conventional oil sources; and

10. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors
encourages the use of life cycle analyses that evaluate the greenhouse
gas emissions from the production-including extraction, refining, and
transportation-of fuels, including unconventional and synthetic fuels;
and

11. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors
supports the creation of clear Federal and State guidelines for tracking
the origin of various types of fuel in order to facilitate life cycle
analysis; and

12. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors
encourages mayors to track and reduce the lifecycle carbon dioxide
emissions from their municipal vehicles by preventing or discontinuing
the purchase of higher-carbon unconventional or synthetic fuels for
these vehicles.

On June 30, 2008,
Anthony Marr, founder of
Vancouver-based Heal Our Planet Earth
(HOPE –
www.HOPE-CARE.org)
and leader of its Global Emergency
Operation (GEO), will kick
start the first of 3 long tours over 3 years towards rallying
nations worldwide to join forces in saving future generations and
life on Earth from global warming.

·launch 100+
Time-Capsules-of-HOPE-2060
to let future generations know the truth about the Global Warming
War of the early 21st Century, the first to be buried in
Alberta, containing a jar of tar sand, a bottle of Athabasca Lake
water and a brass plaque engraved with “Alberta Premier Ed
Stelmach - Canadian Criminal Against Nature and Humanity #2”,
among other things

While in Washington DC , Anthony Marr, considered a leading activist
in the United States , will deliver 10 different speeches at the
Animal Rights National Conference
August 14-18 (www.ARConference..org),
where he aims to transform the Animal Rights movement into a
powerful force in the world global-warming arena.

HOPE-GEO-2 (2009) will cover 25
states in the US west, southwest, midwest, south and southeast, and
Mexico .

HOPE-GEO-3 (2010-2011) will cover
20 major countries worldwide.

Vancouver is of significance
because it is the home of Heal Our
Planet Earth (HOPE),
and the beginning/end point of all three HOPE-GEO tours; it is
destined to become a major centre of global warming activism.

Anthony Marr is the first person in world history to make the
revolutionary but inevitable declaration that “Runaway
Global Heating HAS BEGUN!” (May
13, 2008). In short, the hitherto less than 1oC average
global temperature rise since pre-industrial times has been
sufficient to effect unprecedented melting of the Artic sea ice (in
2007 3X faster than the worst-case scenario predicted by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - IPCC). Even more
alarming is the thawing of the
SubArctic permafrost which
contains more carbon than in the atmosphere today - in the form of
methane, the most dangerous substance on Earth bar none. As a
greenhouse gas methane is 20-70 times more potent as CO2. The
methane released from the thawing permafrost will warm the
atmosphere even more, melting even more permafrost, releasing even
more methane, warming up the atmosphere even more… - the Methane Feedback Loop,
which, if left unchecked, will spiral into Runaway Global Heating,
which, as of the beginning of permafrost methane release, has indeed
begun.

Anthony Marr’s focus in British Columbia is the proposed crude oil
pipeline
leading from the Alberta tar sands to Kitimat BC , and the resulting
tanker traffic in BC waters. Statistically speaking,
tanker traffic means inevitable Exxon-Valdez-level oil spills,
average frequency estimated to be once every 16 years. The
government of BC, championing the
carbon tax while supporting the infamous Alberta tar sands,
has a moral conflict it must resolve. (Please see HOPE’s
Open Letter to the BC Premier and Environment Minister in the
next media release.)

HOPE
believes that the Global Emergency
Operation is in fact the last
ditch effort of an endangered Earth suddenly and abruptly running
out of time.

Saving Wildlife from Mass Extinction due to Global
Warming

The polar bear and the harp seal are just two species
among the 90+% of all species on Earth that will go extinct if by 2100
the global temperature rises by more than 6 degrees Celsius (about 9.5
degrees Farenheit). A 6 degree rise is the worst case scenario among the
5 scenarios presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In 2005-2007, the extent of Arctic ice-melt went off scale, exceeding
even the worst case scenario by 100%. In the same period, the Amazon had
the worst drought in history, leading scientists to project that the
great Amazon Rainforest, containing 5 milion species, may become the
great Amazon Desert by 2100.

Anthony Marr will be interviewed for one full hour by Rick Habgood
on CFUV radio (101.9 FM, 104.3 Cable, or listen digitally
http://cfuv.uvic.ca/listen/listen.html) on January 29,
Tuesday, 4:30-5:30pm PST (5:30-6:30pm Mountain time, 6:30-7:30pm Central
time, 7:30-8:30pm Eastern time).

In the first half-hour, he will talk about his last
30-states-in-5-months (July-December 2007) Compassion for Animals
Road Expedition #5 (CARE-5 - see
http://www.HOPE-CARE.org ) focusing on bowhunting, urban deer
culling, immunocontraception and government corruption issues. What he
saw on this tour blew his Canadian mind, and what he has to report would
blow the minds of all Canadians, and most Americans.

In the second half-hour, he will discuss his new campaign titled
"Saving Wildlife from Mass Extinction due to Global Warming". For
anyone who has never heard of the term Methane Clathrate or Methane
Hydrate, this is a must listen, since Anthony considers it "the most
dangerous stuff on Earth, far more so than even all the nukes combined".
And he will talk about the End-Permian Mass Extinction 251 million years
ago, which caused the extinction of over 70% of terrestrial species
and over 90% of marine species, rendering the following
early-Triassic Period almost devoid of life, a scenario not far
different from what we face today. He believes that what we do or do not
do within the next decade, starting now, will determine the fate of life
on Earth and the fate of the Earth itself, and that any "next year" will
precipitate wide-ranging, far-reaching and long-lasting consequences
over centuries, millennia, even millions of years. "As is, at this point
of the global warning era, we stand to lose at least 50% of Earth's
species no matter what we do or don't do. But we stand to lose much more
if we don't act, or act foolishly," says Anthony Marr.

Chinatown Undercover, 1995-1996, victory with new law passed in June,
1996.

Ban Bear Hunting In BC Initiative, which included a 2-month, 12,000-km
road tour designed and executed by AM, in which he was constantly harassed
by up to 120 hunters at a time, but due to the confrontations and
controversy, the tour generated over 100 newspaper articles and 1,800
volunteers from the 75 electoral districts throughout the province.

In front to the Legislature in Victoria with Paul George, founder of the
25,000-members-strong Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC or
"WC-squared")

The Save the Tiger Walk in Stanley Park, Vancouver, 1997. 2,000
students showed up first try, which involved AM giving his Tigers Forever
slideshow to 60 schools beforehand.

Tigresses by the dozens at Tiger Walk '97.

The children dragged their parents out, who otherwise might have gone to
play golf.

The Speaker of Honor.

1998-01. Newspaper photo of AM after the physical assault. The
good thing about this is that it was a media event unto itself, and it
unified the movement to an extent.

AM leading the Love the Tiger Walk on St. Valentine's Day, 1999, in New
Delhi, India. As in Vancouver, 1997, 2,000 people joined the march,
and again, lots of children, of the schools.

Slogans invented by Indian school children

Speakers included P.K. Sen, head of Project Tiger, and Pradeep Sankhala of
Tiger Trust, and AM.

In August, 1999, in 100+ degree heat, AM checked out 37 Chinese
apothecaries on foot, and found tiger and leopard bone medicines in 9
stores. Media-wise the operation was well covered.

2002, in the horse community of Southlands, Vancouver, a march against
using horses for Premarin

In March 2003, AM performed the Funeral March for the Hunted - 100 km/60
mi from Mission to Vancouver, and further to Victoria, solo. The
kick-off ceremony was performed in downtown Vancouver at the Art Gallery.

October 2003, on the Compassion for Animals Road Expedition (CARE), AM,
Brenda Davis and Cory Davis joined many local events. Of note was
the anti-bear-hunting movement in New Jersey. One of the leading
activists is Stuart Chaifetz.

While campaigning for office, Governor McGreevy (centre) promised
to maintain NJ's no-bear-hunting policy, letter blown up below. Now,
in office, he moved to restart bear hunting.

October 2003, in CT, the Audubon Society was opening a bow-hunting season
of deer on its own grounds. AM joined the demo against it and spoke
his mind.

October 2003, in Bridgeport CT, a well organized and attended
anti-Ringling-Bros demo, joined by groups from Animal Liberation to

Parents Against Cruelty

CARE campaigner Brenda Davis standing up for elephants and against abuse.

Kristal Parks is a truly amazing woman, and has done many remarkable
things, including sacrificing her freedom for following her heart, which
is always in the right place. Her latest act of self-giving was
nothing short of stunning. When Ringling Bros came to Denver in
2004, Kristal conducted a water-only hunger strike inside a cage, beside a
sign saying "ELEPHANTS LOVE FREEDOM TOO", until Ringling finally left
town. Day 13 was her lucky day. Since then, I have asked
myself if I could do the same. All I can say is that I've had
numerous occasions when doing the same could have brought results, but so
far, I haven't. See
www.KristalParks.com,
www.PachydermPower.org

March 12, 2005, anti-seal-massacre march. Cory Davis (17) on TV

March 12, 2005, anti-seal-massacre march. Carmen Crosland (14) on
radio

June 2005, prepping the dozen cars for the 270-mile (350 km) Funeral
Motorcade for the Seal, to illustrate the length of a single file of
350,000 dead seals lined up along I-45.

4 Houston TV stations covered the event

Janice Blue and her classic Mercedes was our "mother hen"

July 2005, in San Diego, with the San Diego Animal Advocates

at La Jolla Beach, the last 200'of southern California beach still
inhabited by seals, with restrictions on human activities in favor of the
seals.

Some locals want the seals evicted and all restrictions removed.
"The beach is for humans, not for seals," said one woman AM interviewed.
Another said, "The Lord gave us dominion over the earth, to use as we see
fit."

Media was keen on the issue.

with San Diego Funeral Motorcade group

July 2005, Funeral Motorcade for the Seals from San Diego to Los Angeles.
Activists from SDAA were going to LA to attend the AR2005 conference, in
which AM would also be speaking. AM suggested the motorcade, since
cars would be going from SD to LA anyway. The idea was adopted, and
the motorcade was launched.

August 2005, in demo at Red Lobster near Portland, OR, with IDA.

2005, Portland OR, IDA at Red Lobster.

August 2005, Portland OR, TV interview by American Atheists on the
Omniscientific Cosmology

October 2005, in front of the Japanese consulate in Vancouver BC to
protest the Japanese dolphin capture-slaughter. Present were Steve
Thompson, Bruce Foerster, Ashley Fruno, Erika Caballos, Ian Dakers, Dianna
Berton, city councilor Tim Louis and three "dolphins", and we can't forget
young Sophie, Erika's daughter. Erika is one of the precious few
great dolphin/seal moms..

March 2006, in front of the office the the Department of Fisheries and
Oceans in downtown Vancouver BC to protest the Canadian seal massacre.
Sighting of the only pair of identical twins in the universe that belong
to two different species!

Just one dog, but about 100 humans participated. Ashley Fruno on the
bullhorn in the lead.

Never a dull moment.

A picture is worth a thousand words; some words are worth thousands of
pictures.

AM addressing the assembly. "The DFO proudly proclaims that 98% of
the seals are killed humanely. In other words, the DFO proudly
proclaims that only 2% are killed inhumanely. In other words,
by DFO's own admission, over 6,000 seal pups are killed inhumanely every
year, including being skinned alive. Some estimate over 40% of the
seal pups being killed inhumanely, or 130,000 baby seals. A couple of
years ago, two Toronto 'artists' tortured a cat to death as art, which
raised a firestorm of outrage and protest, ending in their imprisonment.
If basically kind-hearted Canadians would not tolerate the cruel killing
of one cat, why should they tolerate the cruel killing of at least 6,000
baby seals?"

Ïn solidarity for the seals.

The new symbol of Canada?

Our ashamed Canadian (we all are) was Nadine Saunders from Newfoundland -
the only "Newfie" in our midst, holding the "clean end" of the
Newfoundland stick. I feel a certain kinship with her, from the view
point of a person of Chinese origin fighting the Chinese tradition (e.g.
using tiger bone for medicine, and cruelty to animals), and being
alienated from it. Nadine's passion and energy are palpable, and
contagious.

This video opens with a carefully edited scene of a Bengal Tiger
patiently stalking and then attacking its prey. The plight of the tiger in
India is very serious. At the turn of the century, there were over 100,000
tigers. This number quickly diminished to 30,000 by the 1940's due to the
trophy hunting which was a national sport. Conservationist
Anthony Marr has championed the cause of the tiger for two
reasons. He believes that "if the tiger is gone from this land, the land
will have lost its soul." He also understands that the greatest threat to
the tiger's survival today is the huge Chinese market for tiger parts. A
dead tiger is worth $100,000 in China where it is believed that, next to
the mythical dragon, the tiger is the most powerful animal. Through
Chinese medicines, healers use tiger parts to transfer that power to
humans. Being Chinese, himself, Marr believes that he may have a greater
impact.

The video contains brilliant camera work which captures the power and
beauty of the tiger. The sound track echoes the India countryside by using
instruments native to the land. The narration is clear and easily
understood. Many of the scenes are very graphic, showing tigers tearing
apart gazelles or revealing hunters and poachers destroying the tiger for
its pelt or bones. These scenes are balanced, however, by the joy of a
playful young kitten or a delightful scene that allows the viewer to watch
as a very hot tiger gingerly and slowly sinks into a cool pond of water.

Marr has focused on children as one of the avenues of support for these
endangered creatures. This goal will probably be most effective with the
children in India, but the biggest obstacle will be the poor Indian
villagers who have been displaced without compensation so that the
government can create sanctuaries for the tiger. Incentives are now being
created that will offer these people a better life if they will help to
save these endangered animals.

Bengal Tigers
has aired on Discovery and Animal Planet. The video also
includes previewing questions and post-viewing questions in addition to
several web sites. The video would support a study of endangered animals
and also could offer many opportunities for the students to problem solve
and to create their own solutions.

Highly Recommended.

Susan Fonseca is a teacher-librarian at Glenwood School in St. Vital
School Division in Winnipeg, MB.

* * *

2002-05-18

The Vancouver Courier

Horse lovers are saddling up this weekend for a protest ride against
the industry that turns urine from pregnant mares into drugs.

Horse lovers are saddling up this weekend for a protest ride against
the industry that turns urine from pregnant mares into drugs.

Horse lovers are saddling up this weekend for a protest ride against
the industry that turns urine from pregnant mares into drugs.

On May 19, members and friends of the Southlands Equestrian Centre will
protest on horseback and foot to raise awareness about poor treatment of
horses and foals in the industry. Pharmaceutical companies use estrogen
from pregnant mares to produce Premarin, a prescription drug commonly
prescribed to menopausal women.

Protest organizer Anthony Marr says
that more than 50,000 mares are impregnated annually in various pregnant
mare urine factory farms across Canada, then kept attached to urine
collection devices in narrow tie-stalls for at least six months, with
little exercise. A bi-product of the industry is thousands of unwanted
foals, which are usually sold for slaughter.

"These pregnant mares can't sit down or lie down," he said. "According
to the industry, they're exercised once every two weeks. That's
ridiculous."

He said the mares are usually impregnated in late July. By October,
they're hooked up to the urine collection devices in what's commonly
referred to as a "pee line."

Labour is often induced early so the mare can be impregnated again as
soon as possible. To create more concentrated urine, the mare's water
intake is restricted, so the animals are often thirsty. Their feet and
legs also suffer due to confinement and lack of care.

Marr said there are almost 500 pregnant mare urine farms in Canada and
the U.S., most of them located in the prairie provinces. A web site
sponsored by Alberta's Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Development says there are 487 pregnant mare urine farms throughout
Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and North Dakota. All producers are under
contract to Ayerst Organic Limited, a division of Wyeth Ayerst Canada
Inc., producers of Premarin. Wyeth did not return calls by the Courier's
press time.

A quick search of the Internet turned up hundreds of web pages
protesting the use of horses in the pregnant mare urine industry and
dedicated to rescuing the foals born as a result. Only a handful of the
sites were in support of the business.

Marr said more than 80 per cent of the foals produced on pregnant mare
urine farms are sold for meat, known as "foal steak" in Europe and Japan.
The foals are jam-packed into transports trucks and taken to auction,
where they're sold in lots of 10 or 15.

"The buyer doesn't even look at them," Marr said.

"They only buy them by the weight of the lot."

Marr, who heads the Heal Our Planet Earth Global Environmental
Organization from his home on West 11th Avenue, doesn't restrict his love
of animals to horses. He's traveled to India three times as part of a
program to teach conservation on tiger reserves, and in 1996, started
lobbying the provincial government to end the grizzly bear hunt.

"I love two kinds of animals, wild ones and domestic ones," he said. "I
even love mosquitoes for the part they play in the ecology. But I have to
admit, I don't love them as much as I love horses and tigers."

Riders interested in
participating in the event should gather at 9:30 a.m. at the equestrian
centre, located on 51st Avenue between Balaclava and Carnarvon. The Parade
of Compassion starts south on Carnarvon, goes west along the Fraser River,
north past the golf courses, across Marine Drive at Camosun for a trail
ride in Pacific Spirit Park.

The proposed West Coast COMMERCIAL seal hunt will be the hot topic between
9 and 9:30 a.m. next Tuesday, May 27, on the BC-hottest Rafe Mair show.
It will be broadcast throughout the province.

It is a hot topic because the Haida First Nation at the Queen Charlotte
Islands is vigorously pushing for it, and they have three politicians to
do the pushing for them.

As well as hereditary chief Roy Jones himself. He has been on media
quite vigorously of late - CTV earlier this month, CKNW yesterday, and
will also be on this Rafe Mair show.

Dallas Brodie, Mair's prograam manager, called me yesterday morning about
15 minutes before Roy Jones was about to come on, and offered to call me
for a rebuttal. I did my little part, but could not help but notice
how many native people and prohunting people plugged up the phone-lines.
Obviously, Jones did his organizing before he came on air.

So, here is what I am writing this notice for. There is no doubt
that Jones and his cohorts will do the same thing over again next Tuesday.
If we don't do the same or better, the public will get a stilted view.
The phone numbers are: 604-331-2711 local, and toll-free 1-877-399-9898.
The show will start at about 9:05 right after the news.

Second thing I would like some help in is that I will be in the hot seat
against Jones. If anyone has any dynamite relevant info I'm not
aware of, and any crushing point to make that I may not have thought of,
please email them my way -
anthony-marr@hope-care.org.

We must snip this thing in the bud. We simply cannot allow this hunt
to happen.

Editorial by Rafe Mair on CKNW, March 28, 2003. "Assuming the
'environmental movement' had its start around 1962, when Rachel Carson
published her blockbuster "Silent Spring" this means that in 60 years –
after we knew better – we have all but wiped out our oceans." Reproduced
with permission from
http://www.rafeonline.com/.

It’s time we came to our senses, folks. By a recent Canadian study, 90%
of the world’s predatory fishes have been wiped out and for convenience
that term includes porpoises, dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions and so
forth as well. It also includes salmon and any other fish prey on other
sea creatures other than plankton and vegetation. Then we heard yesterday
from author Richard Ellis, who has studied the oceans for 35 years,
confirmation of that fact in his book The Empty Ocean. What is really
terrifying is that nearly all countries bordering on oceans have laws
favouring conservation and government departments to do the enforcing.
Assuming the “environmental movement” had its start around 1962, when
Rachel Carson published her blockbuster "Silent Spring" this means that in
60 years – after we knew better – we have all but wiped out our oceans. If
one takes the starting point at 1948 when Thor Heyerdahl wrote Kon Tiki it
means we took a bit longer but we knew more earlier.

It can be argued that there have been other causes – global warming
being one but even that may be attributed to man. The terrible fact comes
back to hit us in the face – we have destroyed 90% of our sea going
predatory animals … and we knew better.

One of the reasons this has happened is that it’s always been someone
else’s fault – Japan and Norway after whales, Japan and Korea with drift
nets, Russian trawlers and on and on it goes. Whatever we ourselves do, we
convince ourselves, is peanuts compared to the major sinners.

But there are two major problems. There is the huge sinner, the
whalers, the drift netters and the huge trawlers … but there are also, all
over the world, deaths of a thousand cuts. Little impacts here, little
degradations there which all add up.

As I remarked to Mr Ellis in my interview yesterday, if we see a clear
cut we know there was once a forest there and we are reminded of that fact
for years to come. When we look out at the ocean we don’t see any
degradation so, out of sight, out of mind.

The ocean’s ecology is very complicated. There is a huge and very
complex interdependence. Left to her own devices, nature handles its
problems very well. When the victims decrease the predators starve giving
the victims the opportunity to revive their numbers. But it is never just
one on one. Very often someone’s predator is another one’s victim and
sometimes the chain is a long and complicated one.

This doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for the human fisherman – man
has been fishing since prehistoric times and humans are part of the food
chain, though at the very top. What it does mean is that we have to start
assessing our sloppy and often plain greedy actions and do something about
it.

Probably the biggest problems are two in number – we don’t have good
science to guide us and the majority don’t want any science that curtails
our activities.

Let’s look first at the seals, both on the East Coast and the West
Coast. Superficially it seems obvious – there is the seal and there was
the fish. Kill the seals and the fish will come back. But
Anthony Marr, Paul Watson and much
serious science will tell you that the seal, who is a predator, is two
other things as well. It is the victim of Orcas and is also the friend of
the fish it preys on. How can that be?

The seal doesn’t only eat salmon on the west coast or cod on the east
coast … it also preys upon the enemies of the salmon and cod respectively.
It’s that complex food chain again. This means that it’s not enough to
know how many seals there are and how many salmon because they are but a
couple of links in the chain that includes Whales at one end and plankton
on the other with all sorts of disparate elements in between – such as
eagles, bears, wharf perch, shiners, sticklebacks and on it goes. This is
why much of the science available is unhelpful. Much of it – by industry
especially but by governments as well – is self serving and is initiated
not to seek out unknown answers so much as to gratify a desire to exploit.

You know the story of the Orange Roughy, a delicacy found off the
shores of Australia and New Zealand. It was fished hard on the assumption
that they were quickly replaced. The most elementary of studies would have
shown what we now know, namely that the fish lives about 25 years and
doesn’t spawn until many years after birth. Simply by fishing on a
wrong-headed assumption, prompted no doubt by greed, a species has almost
been eliminated.

This is what is so distressing about the Atlantic Salmon fish farm
industry in British Columbia – it has been allowed to exist and now expand
without the basic science being done. Actually, we know it’s worse than
that because ongoing science in Norway, Scotland and Ireland science has
shown caged salmon to be an ecological disaster. Our own science, Dr John
Volpy and Alexandra Morton, as verified by several marine biologists,
shows us that this interference with our native fishery has been
disastrous and that matters will get much worse.

The fish farm debate is a curious one for the fish farmers say that
they will be the salvation of the wild fish because demand for fish will
be met by farmed rather than wild fish. This isn’t true for a lot of
reasons. At the very best they might replace, as food, those wild salmon
they destroy but it must also be remembered that they consume, over their
life, many times their weight in other fish … because those other fish
come form foreign lands we tend to discount them.

In the marvelous old comic strip of years ago Pogo Possum observed “we
have met the enemy and he is us”. That is tragically so. And at the risk
of being repetitive I must observe that when we start giving Orders of
Canada and BC to the likes of Paul Watson while accepting him as an
honoured member of our society and when we start jailing the pillars in
our communities, the ones who get the Orders of Canada and other honours,
who rape and pillage our oceans, then and then only will we start the
belated path back.

It may already be too late but we must assume that it isn’t and fight
the good fight with all we have in us … for the rapists and pillagers
depend upon us to protest lightly, if at all, then leave them to do as
they wish to the heritage God left us … a heritage we are supposed to be
passing on, intact, to our children and grandchildren.

Tilman Fertitta would like to add a white-tiger exhibit to his downtown
aquarium.

Aquarium owner Tilman Fertitta says the tigers will be a first-class
attraction for his restaurant and the downtown area in general. But not
everyone agrees it’s so humane.

In a restaurant already filled with exotic ocean animals, Fertitta is
hoping to go a step further with the addition of five white tigers.
They’re the same kind of animals that attract hordes of tourists in Las
Vegas.

"I think it would bring a lot of excitement," said Jim Prappas,
Aquarium Restaurant.

Those at the aquarium say the animals would make their restaurant, and
therefore downtown Houston, a more attractive destination for tourists and
conventions, as well as Houstonians.

But don't try telling that to Tiger Preservationist Anthony Marr.

"To keep five tigers for entertainment is not within the realm of
acceptability," he said.

Marr has led three tiger-saving expeditions in rural India and
championed the rights of dwindling species. He opposes the idea of
bringing white tigers to the Aquarium, mainly because of the way they're
bred.

Because white-tigers are such a genetic rarity, animal traders often
inbreed them with family members to increase the likelihood of a baby
white tiger.

"Inbreed to the point where it causes genetic defects," said Marr.

Meanwhile, Aquarium officials respond by saying humane treatment is
their first and foremost priority, along with raising awareness of the
plight of endangered animals among those who go to their restaurants.

"Education is what we're all about, teaching people about conservation,
so hopefully we can implement this exhibit," said Prappas.

But the Aquarium could face opponents with far more authority in
Houston than animal conservationists. Some city officials argue that
tigers in the downtown area violates a number of city ordinances.

Marr will voice his concerns to
the Houston City Council at their meeting on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Fertitta
hopes to have the white tigers on view at his restaurant by the time the
Major League All-Star Game arrives in July.

* * *

2004-02-17

HOUSTON (AP)--A downtown restaurant that already features sharks and
other exotic aquatic life wants to add another attraction from the animal
kingdom: white tigers.

Houston businessman Tilman Fertitta is working to display three tigers
at his Downtown Aquarium restaurant by Major League Baseball's All-Star
game in July at Minute Maid Park.

But animal rights activists are condemning the proposal, and some
council members say it would violate a city ordinance barring people from
having a wild animal in the city.

Restaurant officials say their establishment and downtown Houston would
be a more attractive destination for residents, tourists and conventions
if the animals were there. They also promise to treat the tigers humanely.

Fertitta, president and chief executive of Landry's Restaurants Inc.,
which operates the Downtown Aquarium, hopes to get around the city's
exotic animal ordinance by seeking accreditation from the American
Zoological Association.

``We feel like this is a zoo facility,'' said Jeff Cantwell senior vice
president of development for Landry's. ``This is about entertainment and
education. It's no different from the Houston Zoo in that respect.''

Landry's has received that accreditation for a similar exhibit at a
Denver restaurant.

But animal rights activist Anthony Marr said Fertitta's plan is a
commercial enterprise and that ``there does not seem to be a single
thought for the well-being of these animals or the future of the
species.''

City Controller Annise Parker, who was primarily responsible for
drafting the city's exotic animal ordinance, sent a memo to Mayor Bill
White and City Council members against the idea.

But many suspect the plan by Fertitta, a successful businessman and a
big campaign contributor, will be approved.

``He's very well-connected,'' councilman Mark Goldberg said. ``He's
aggressive. And he's successful because he is driven.''

WHO:Anthony Marr has led three deep-rural-India
tiger saving expeditions, as well as conducted undercover operations in
urban settings to catch smugglers and traders of endangered species
products. He was honored as the "Champion of the Bengal Tiger" in
the TV documentary series "Champions of the Wild," aired in 20
countries on Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Knowledge Network.

WHAT:Anthony Marr is touring the US and Canada on
a 40 state, 4 province Compassion for Animals awareness-raising
tour lasting 7 months, from September 2003 to April 2004. He will be
presenting his 400-image slideshowon the Bengal Tiger to
various schools and groups in the Houstonarea.

WHEN:
Monday, February 16 - Wednesday, February 18 (Houston dates)

WHERE:Anthony Marr will be addressing the Houston City Council
Tuesday, February 17, about the proposed plans of adding live
tigers to the downtown Aquarium complex.

Mr. Marr will be a studio guest on Go Vegan Texas! on
KPFT, 90.1 FM, Monday, February 16, from 11am to noon,
discussing the plight of tigers in the wild and the proper care of them in
captivity. Only 5000 tigers remain in the wild, due to excessive
poaching.

Tilman Fertitta, president and CEO of Landry's Restaurants, which
operates the Downtown Aquarium, is invited to participate in this program
to discuss his plans to add five live white tigers to his complex in time
for July's Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

"The cubs are on order," Fertitta said in a recent Houston Chronicle
front page story. "Some of them haven't even been born yet... If downtown
Houston is going to draw tourists, it has to have first-class
attractions."

Ms. Janice Blue, 1708 Rosewood, Houston, Texas 77004 (713-522-6899)
appeared and stated that Mr. Tillman Fertitta wanted to add live tigers to
his Downtown Aquarium complex; that she read the white tigers were on
order but some cubs were not yet born; that she could not believe he would
make spectacles of such magnificent animals; that tigers belonged in the
wild and not in cages and white tigers could not survive in the wild but
should not be bred just for entertainment purposes. Mayor White, Council
Members Galloway and Sekula-Gibbs absent. Mayor Pro Tem Alvarado
presiding.

Miss Anna Nugent, 1907 North Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77098
(713-522-4059) appeared and stated that she was in third grade and had
been studying tigers about 2-1/2 years and did not think they should be
used for entertainment and kept in cages, but instead should be left in
the wild where they belonged; and if they were kept in cages they needed a
professional to take care of them. Council Members Galloway and
Sekula-Gibbs absent.

Upon questions by Council Member Khan, Ms. Blue stated that you could
learn nothing about tigers from watching them in cages and it was
absolutely and morally wrong. Council Member Galloway absent.

Upon questions by Council Member Garcia, Miss Nugent stated that tigers
did not like being in cages and their lives would be better if left where
they belonged. Council Member Garcia thanked Miss Nugent for coming to
Council and expressing her concerns. Council Members Galloway and Ellis
absent.

Council Member Edwards thanked Miss Nugent for being committed enough
to come today. Council Members Galloway and Ellis absent. Council Member
Alvarado stated that she understood the white tigers were not in the wild
and in fact were bred; and Ms. Blue stated that it was just horrible, but
Mr. Marr was a tiger preservationist and could answer questions even
better than she. Council Members Galloway and Ellis absent.

Mr. Cory Davis, 1094 Lampath, Kelowna, British Columbia V1C1N2
(216-346-0946) appeared and stated that he was from Canada, traveling the
United States and Mr. Fertitta’s restaurant was very nice but tigers were
endangered and the white tigers he wanted to purchase were being bred for
his use; that there were only about 3,500 tigers left and it was because
of the same point of view that they were objects; that he heard the
gentleman say he was doing this for conservation of tigers, but it would
do nothing for conservation because people would only think of them as
objects. Council Members Galloway and Ellis absent.

Mr.

Anthony Marr,
4118 W. 11th Ave., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6R2L6
(216-346-0946) appeared and stated that he was an international tiger
preservationist specializing in the Bengal tiger; that Mr. Fertitta’s plan
to install white tigers did not come down as tiger conservation for
several reasons; that white tigers were of no conservation value
whatsoever; that he had never seen one in a natural habitat and it was
because it was poorly camouflaged and could not catch prey, to him the
only reason to keep a tiger in captivity would be to try and protect its
gene pool and keep them from becoming extinct, but white tigers were
without that value; that breeding of white tigers was also very unethical
as the white fur gene was recessive and for them to have white pups you
had to inbreed and sometimes as closely as parent to cub and among
siblings and because of the deliberate inbreeding they were full of
genetic defects and deformities in the body; that the bred tigers which
were not bought to be caged would be sold for hunting and shot point
blank; that the entire business was onerous and carried no ethical or
conservation merit. Council Members Galloway and Holm absent.

Upon questions by Council Member Alvarado, Mr. Marr stated that up to
this point no tiger had so far been proven capable of being rehabilitated
back into the wild. Council Members Galloway, Holm and Ellis absent.

Council Member Sekula-Gibbs stated that some thought the white tiger
was beautiful and they bred them for their rarity and beauty and it would
bring people to come and see; that in the natural state they could not
survive but it was giving a life it would not normally have. Council
Members Galloway, Garcia and Ellis absent.

Council Member Quan moved that the rules be suspended for the purpose
of continuing discussion by Council relating to tigers, seconded by
Council Member Sekula-Gibbs. All voting aye. Nays none. Council Members
Galloway, Garcia and Ellis absent. MOTION 2004-0177 ADOPTED

Upon questions by Council Member Goldberg, Mr. Marr stated that some
zoos came in a wide range with some having wide motes and open spaces and
so there were good and bad zoos; that in general he opposed human beings
deriving pleasure from the suffering of animals. Council Members Lawrence,
Galloway, Garcia, Ellis and Berry absent.

Upon questions by Council Member Quan, Mr. Marr stated that even
releasing the yellow tiger into the wild had not been successful because
they did not know how to hunt, raise babies or deal with local tigers;
that if a tiger happened to be born in captivity out of a natural
procedure it would be more humane to raise in captivity but that was the
lesser of two evils, but in a puppy mill. Council Members Galloway, Holm,
Garcia and Ellis absent.

Council Member Quan moved that the rules be suspended for the purpose
of continuing discussion by Council relating to tigers, seconded by
Council Member Edwards. All voting aye. Nays none. Council Members
Galloway, Holm, Garcia and Ellis absent. MOTION 2004-0178 ADOPTED

Upon questions by Council Member Edwards, Mr. Marr stated that white
tigers were purposely bred to be white; that if you naturally bred 100
tigers none would be white the percentage was so low and then when one was
born he could be raised until about 2-1/2 when they would then have to
leave and would die; that he had never seen a white tiger in the wild in
all his years and it was a fair statement to say if you saw a white tiger
it was bred to be so. Council Members Galloway and Holm absent

Council Member Berry encouraged Mr. Marr to visit the Houston Zoo; and
upon questions, Mr. Marr stated that his primary reason for being present
today was that he was opposed to any captivity of animals. Council Members
Galloway and Holm absent

Mr. James Prappas, 410 Bagby, Houston, Texas 77002 (713-515-9395)
appeared and stated that he was director of animal operations at Landry’s
Restaurants, Inc. with 23 years in animal care, conservation and research
and he was aware of Mr. Marr’s work and it was significant; that Landry’s
was dedicated to providing the best environment for their animals and all
their staff was involved in conservation efforts; that AZA recognized
Landry’s as a professional well run organization and knew they could give
animals the best possible care and maintenance and they did participate in
AZA’s goals. Council Members Galloway and Holm absent.

Council Member Garcia moved that the rules be suspended for the purpose
of extending time for Mr. James Prappas to speak, seconded by Council
Member Alvarado. All voting aye. Nays none. Council Members Galloway and
Holm absent. MOTION 2004-0179 ADOPTED

Mr. Prappas stated that without abilities to go to countries and
support them financially there would not be Bengal tigers, etc., for Mr.
Marr to conduct research on to understand how to save them if not for
captivity. Council Members Galloway and Holm absent

Upon questions by Council Member Lawrence, Mr. Prappas stated that
their exhibits were being designed as an attachment to the building and by
AZA members; that they did not do caging it was more of an emerging and
would be top notch quality. Council Member Lawrence stated that once it
was designed she would like it sent to her office. Council Members
Galloway and Holm absent

Upon questions by Council Member Edwards, Mr. Prappas stated that AZA
was Association for Zoos and Aquariums; that they wanted the white tigers
as they were captivating and they felt it would generate excitement; that
there would not be a separate fee it was added on to what the existing
exhibit was; that they did allow one HISD school each day to attend free.

Council Member Edwards stated that he had made a previous statement
that third world countries had no interest in caring; and upon questions,
Mr. Prappas stated that the only tigers existing in the U. S. would be in
private breeders hands or zoos, but what he said was most endangered
species exist in countries which were incapable of educating their public
properly to manage their resources and so through many programs in AZA
they sent people to participate in classrooms and in building schools and
in getting them interested; that many in Kenya and many wildlife refugees
were supported by tourism which generated here in the United States and
Great Britain where the money went to help pay authorities; and Council
Member Edwards stated that she did not know he was an expert on Kenya’s
ability to… on whether or not they wanted to educate their children but
appreciated his comments Council Members Galloway, Holm, Sekula-Gibbs and
Berry absent.

Upon questions by Council Member Garcia, Mr. Prappas stated that
Landry’s wanted to be professional and had hired people to keep integrity
in the conservation research; that they would exceed guidelines for their
exhibit. Council Members Galloway, Holm, Sekula-Gibbs, Green and Berry
absent.

Mayor White stated that from a human being type point Council Member
Edwards pointed out something and he traveled a lot of the world and could
not generalize about all third world countries just like he could not
generalize about all Americans, it was something he had to learn through
his travels and shared for what it was worth as there were some old ways
of thinking which they should avoid. Council Members Galloway, Holm,
Sekula-Gibbs, Green and Berry absent...

*
* *

Feb. 17, 2004, 9:36AM

Downtown Aquarium has new plan to win OK for tigers

Fertitta applies for zoo accreditation as critics blast idea

By KRISTEN MACK

Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Tilman Fertitta's plan to glitz up his Downtown Aquarium eatery by
adding white tigers faces legal obstacles, but the restaurateur already
has a plan that may help him avoid them.

Fertitta has applied for accreditation of the aquarium as a public zoo,
which would allow him to exhibit the tigers under the city's exotic animal
ordinance.

According to the ordinance, it is "unlawful for any person to be in
possession of a wild animal within the city." But there are exceptions to
the rule, including one that allows wild animals to be kept at a public
zoo that is accredited by a nationally recognized zoological association.

Meanwhile, an animal rights activist says the display of the tigers is
unethical and serves no purpose beyond "fetish" entertainment.

"What this gentleman (Fertitta) is trying to do is undignified," said
Anthony Marr, a wildlife
preservationist who is in Houston as part of a nationwide tour promoting
compassion for animals. "It is plainly a commercial enterprise. There does
not seem to be a single thought for the well-being of these animals or the
future of the species."

Fertitta has applied for accreditation from the American Zoological
Association, according to Jeff Cantwell, senior vice president of
development for Landry's Restaurants Inc. Landry's has received that
accreditation for a similar exhibit at a restaurant in Denver.

"We feel like this is a zoo facility," Cantwell said of the
establishment."This is about entertainment and education. It's no
different from the Houston Zoo in that respect."

Fertitta already has ordered the three tigers, which he said he was
hoping to have in place by the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in
July. Because the application process is lengthy, however, it may be early
fall before it is complete.

"The timing of this is a concern, but we just want it to be done
correctly," Cantwell said.

City Controller Annise Parker, who was largely responsible for drafting
the city's exotic animal ordinance, sent a memo to Mayor Bill White and
City Council members opposing the idea.

"While I am confident that great care would be taken to ensure the
safety of the public, the city cannot turn a blind eye to the double
standard it would be creating by allowing Mr. Fertitta to follow through
on his plans," it reads. " I believe it is simply wrong to say no to
residents, while at the same time saying yes to a proposal that appears to
be in direct violation of the law."

The city's Legal Department is studying the matter.

But many suspect that Fertitta's plan will come to fruition. Fertitta,
president and CEO of Landry's Restaurants, is a wildly successful
businessman, a prominent fixture in Houston's social and philanthropic
scenes and a big campaign contributor.

"He's very well-connected," Councilman Mark Goldberg said. "He's
aggressive. And he's successful because he is driven."

Goldberg said that if the tiger display were able to draw more people
downtown, the city should look into making an exception to the rule.

"We have an ordinance that was created without keeping in mind that we
are trying to attract tourists and businesses downtown," Goldberg said.

Fertitta and his aquarium have been the subjects of controversy before.
Under political and public pressure, he jettisoned a plan to erect a
200-foot-high observation tower at the restaurant. And just last week,
council members bristled upon learning that a city contract for downtown
establishments paid for peripheral security for the restaurant.

"I don't see how he can get around it," she said. "We made it for a
reason. I don't see why an exception should be made. I wouldn't be
inclined to do it."

Having said that, Edwards added that she does not doubt that Fertitta
has gotten the go-ahead from somebody to continue pursing the tiger
exhibit.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he got it, although I would be
disappointed," she said.

Even if Fertitta is able to work around the exotic animals ordinance,
there is another city law that prohibits animals -- with the exception of
seeing-eye dogs and fish in tanks -- in establishments that serve food.
Fertitta has responded that the tigers would not be housed in the
restaurant but on the first floor of the establishment in a professionally
designed enclosure.

Regardless, Marr, the animal rights activist, said it is unethical to
keep endangered and exotic animals in captivity.

"Although people have a fascination for it, there are several negative
ramifications," said Marr, who is scheduled to address City Council during
its public session today.

“Captive bred white tigers are mostly products of deliberate inbreeding
to bring out the recessive white gene,” said Marr, “and the color comes
with a range of genetic defects. Even so, the white color shows up only
25% of the time. The other 75% are genetically defective orange tigers
which are just sold to canned hunt ranches for whatever.”

Cantwell contends that the tigers Fertitta has "on order" were already
born in captivity and not bred for the Houston aquarium.

Jim Prappas, associate director of animal husbandry for Landry's
Restaurants Inc. maintains that the aquarium is focused on education,
research and conservation of the tigers.

"There's always going to be someone ... saying they think these should
not be displayed," Prappas said. "We are never going to get away from that
kind of opposition."

Archives 2004

Anthony Marr
of the Compassion for Animals Road Expedition (CARE) tour talks about his
efforts to save tigers and grizzly bears from extinction

* * *

2004-03-25

ABC-TV

San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose

Bizarre Practice Of Bear Farming

The I-Team Investigates

May 25 —
You may have seen stories here on ABC7 about
the illegal trade in exotic animal parts, such as rhino horn, tiger bone,
or elephant tusk. But now, the I-Team uncovers the bizarre practice
known as "bear farming." Dan Noyes has this exclusive report.

Pictures of the bear farms in China are
disturbing, but we won't show you the worst of it. Products from those
farms are on sale here in the Bay Area, and the demand is causing a surge
in bear poaching in our state parks.

We took our hidden cameras to San Francisco's Chinatown, and with the
help of Canadian author and animal activist,
Anthony Marr, bought illegal bear
products -- pills and shavings from a bear's gall bladder.

Marr has seen the products for sale across the country, as he promotes
a book about a new planetary philosophy called Omniscientific Cosmology.

Marr: "This is my culture, too. I'm also a Chinese person, but I think
that cultures should evolve along with the times. All of the bear species
in Asia are driven to the point of extinction, they're all considered to
be endangered."

The bear pills and shavings are sold as a cure-all and for arthritis or
liver problems. To meet the demand, bear farms have sprung up across
China.

Right now, 7,000 bears are being kept in tiny cages their entire lives
-- they never get out. They undergo a painful procedure in which the bile
from their gall bladder is extracted with a catheter - or, it just
constantly drips from an open wound into a bowl.

Jill Robinson: "Maybe in 50 years time, we're gonna look back in this
industry with complete shame. It's almost a practice that belongs in
medieval times."

But the farms can't meet the world-wide demand for bear bile and gall
bladders. They're more expensive than cocaine on the black market. A
single gall bladder can cost as much as $10,000.

With so much money at stake, California game wardens are seeing a surge
in bear poaching. Last year in Bakersfield, eight men were caught and
convicted for poaching -- the bear parts went to market in San Francisco
and Asia. One of the men bragged to investigators, he alone killed 87
bears that year. But arrests like this are rare.

Jerry Karnow, Fish and Game: "Those folks are getting smarter and we
have fewer officers so that combination is making it tough."

Jerry Karnow is the only Fish and Game warden assigned to Yuba County.
He has the impossible task of covering 1200 square miles a day, by
himself. By the time he got to this crime scene in Plumas National Forest,
the poachers were long gone.

Karnow: "This is an actual noose and that's still bear hair."

Poachers killed this bear, took the gall bladder and left everything
else behind.

Karnow: "When I see that activity, you know, I don't like it."

There are also problems at the Fish and Game crime lab in Sacramento.
It's critical to building a case against poachers, but the lab is so
underfunded that the scientists have a case backlog of three to four
months.

Jim Banks: "We too have our finger in the dike and we're just holding,
hoping that year after year maybe something is going to change."

There's one bright spot in all this -- activists are making some
progress in China. The government has finally admitted the bear farms
should be shut down -- they've signed an agreement. The process will take
years, but refugees from the bear farms are already filling sanctuaries.

Robinson: "It just breaks our hearts because the bears have never,
never had a life. They've never known what it is to live life like a
bear... They are a remarkably intelligent and forgiving animal and we're
just so proud to be working with them."

In some cases, bear bile medicines have been proven to work, but you
have no guarantee what you're buying is the real thing. And, there are
synthetic versions that are widely available and just as potent. There's a
tremendous cultural barrier to overcome.

The irascible radio host on his new memoir, the Liberals and his own
evolving politics (Would you believe Green Socialist?) Photo by C.
Campbell

My next-door neighbour Ray, whose transistor radio is constantly tuned
to either golden oldies or talk shows, thinks he knows Rafe Mair. “That
right-wing bastard,” he says, when Mair’s talk show comes up in
conversation. Then for no reason Ray reminds me for the 42nd time that
he himself has picked the winner of every election he’s witnessed since
he learned to count. Ray knows what he knows. Down at Paul’s Place, an
old-school lunch joint at the south foot of the Granville Bridge, Mair’s
reputation prompts Rafe himself to mutter a mild expletive of his own.
Whatever pretensions we have about ourselves, humans are still prone to
tribal behavior, and B.C. politics is good evidence of that. But go
figure. Who does Rafe Mair name as his three greatest heroes in
Rafe: A Memoir (Harbour Publishing) Wild salmon advocate
Alexandra Morton, B.C. bear-hunting opponent
Anthony Marr, and anti-whaling crusader Paul Watson. What’s
more, Mair actually describes himself as a socialist in the book. Of
course, even W.A.C. Bennett was, as Mair puts it, “mildly socialist” —
he turned BC Electric into a public utility and created BC Ferries. This
tribalism we’re susceptible to is getting complicated. ...

“We need to change the structure of government,” Mair insists, arguing
that majority governments don’t make room for diversity of opinion. “
The 73-year-old radio host, who says the creation of the Citizens’
Assembly on Electoral Reform resulted partly from the early advocacy of
himself and Gordon Gibson, is still trying to make up his mind about the
proposed single-transferable vote system recommended last month by the
assembly. The system, which promises long ballots, “surplus votes,” and
headache-inducing methods of vote tabulation, lacks the kind of clarity
and simplicity that many voters prefer. And that worries Mair. “If it is
not explained to the satisfaction of the public, it won’t fly.” Still,
he thinks the system would yield good results — strong, electable
independent candidates, greater diversity of opinion, and governments
that would be obliged to respect diverse interests. “The people that
prefer first-past-the-post are the solid interests, the solid
socialists, the solid capitalists.” They are the folks who benefit from
the devoted patronage of having their person in the premier’s office.
“It’s not in their interest to have actually lobby the broad base of an
entire legislature.” ...

July 14, 2003http://www.whaleprotection.org/
Annelisa Sorge of No Whales in Captivity talks about the meeting of the
International Whaling Commission. Anthony Marr
hope-care.org
on the proposed West Coast harbour seal hunt, killing 50,000 (half the
population) at $160 per seal for $7 million, by a hereditary chief, Roy
Jones, of the Queen Charlotte Island band. The excuse is that the seals
are claimed to be depleting the salmon stocks.

Dec.3, 2001Anthony
Marr: tiger conservation
and related subjects. Editorial "Terror, Love and the State of the
World" by John Robbins, author of "Diet for a New America" June
Harrison, co-ordinator of the "Royal Hound Adoption Society"

June 11, 2001Anthony Marr, Funeral March for the
Hunted - a protest against the annual Canadian seal hunt Evelyn
Kirkaldie on the Bear Hunt Moratorium in British Columbia ...
Jamie Alexandre Farm
San

* * *

Champions
of the Wild

aired in 20
countries

on

Discovery
Channel

Animal Planet

Outdoor Living
Network

Knowledge
Network

Champions of the Wild

Bengal Tigers

A tiger sits motionless,
hidden. Then it starts to move--very slowly at first: one of the
world's most tenacious predators is on the prowl. Birds, deer, monkeys
run for cover. The tiger's legs drive it forward at high speed as it
chooses its prey and relentlessly runs it down. It's a magical sight,
pure power and speed. And we may be the last generation to witness it.
These are truly dark days for the tigers of the world. One subspecies
became extinct during the 1970s, another in the '80s. Today fewer than
5,000 Bengal tigers remain in the wild. Conservationist Anthony
Marr
feels a near-mystical connection with tigers. "They get right into the
core of my soul," he says. "It's a magical feeling just to know they
exist." Largely shot in India's Bandhavgarh National Park, Bengal
Tigers is a plea to save one of the world's most remarkable
creatures. During the '70s, the international community came together
to save the whales. Now it's time to save the tigers.

Moose — An internationally
renowned wildlife biologist is waging a tireless campaign for moose
conservation from his home in Manitoba. To get close to his favorite
beasts, he straps on a bull moose head and waits in the wild for
curious herds to investigate.

12/2/05

Manatee — World authority on
manatee biology and conservation, Dr. Buddy Powell grew up with these
gentle giants literally in his backyard. He is determined to halt the
decline of the species, under siege from fishing nets, outboard motors
and habitat loss.

12/5/05

Badger — Biologist Nancy Newhouse
is struggling to enlist support from British Columbia's landowners and
planners for the conservation of the Rocky Mountain badger population,
squeezed out of their homes by development and an ever-growing network
of roads.

12/6/05

Golden Lion Tamarin
— At Brazil's Poco das Antas Biological Reserve, biologist Cecilia
Kierulff used satellite mapping to relocate more than a dozen golden
lion tamarin monkeys. With the creation of a new tamarin reserve, her
group is repopulating at record rates.

12/7/05

Elk — For years, Banff National
Park's elk population has sought refuge from predatory wolves in the
town of Banff, leading to confrontations with humans. Wildlife
research biologist John McKenzie has developed a plan for peaceful
coexistence.

12/8/05

Elephants — Joyce Pool has
dedicated her life to researching and protecting the African elephant.
From her research center in Kenya, she reports that elephants have
emotion, understand death and exhibit senses of humor.

12/9/05

Bengal Tigers of India
— For decades trophy hunters decimated India's tiger population,
taking it from 100,000 to just 30,000 by the 1970s. Through his Tigers
Forever campaign, Anthony Marr
is reversing the plight of India's Bengal tiger from almost certain
extinction.

12/12/05

Costa Rican Monkeys
— Linda Fedigan is a world-respected primatologist working to protect
monkeys in Costa Rica. Studying the behavior of the spider, howler and
capuchin monkeys, Ms. Fedigan is investigating the recent deaths of
these monkeys from "unknown" causes.

12/13/05

White & Black Rhinoceros
— For nearly 30 years, Courtland Parfet has been protecting black and
white rhinos on his ranch in Kenya. He is credited with saving the
black rhinoceros population from extinction.

12/14/05

Chimpanzees of Uganda
— Biologist Colin Chapman works with chimpanzees and monkeys in Kibale
National Park. He has been assisting the Ugandan government in
establishing conservation programs for endangered primates.

12/15/05

Giant Sea Turtles
— Peter Pritchard is regarded as the world's foremost expert on sea
turtles. He travels the world establishing effective programs to stop
the slaughter of these ancient reptiles.

12/16/05

Koalas — Human expansion has
caused a steady decline in koala populations. Deborah Tabart and Steve
Phillips have revolutionized the battle for koala conservation by
creating new methods of protecting this marsupial and its habitat.

12/19/05

Sea Otters — Sea otters are
credited with returning the Vancouver, Canada coastline to a thriving
ecosystem. While large sea urchin populations kill off local kelp
forests, otters snacking on urchins allow the kelp to flourish.

12/20/05

Tarantulas — Rick West is the
world's undisputed tarantula expert. He has collected, bred and
studied tarantulas for the past 30 years and has been successful in
having eight species declared endangered in the U.S.

12/21/05

Kangaroos — Kangaroos are
internationally recognized as the symbol of Australia. The successful
campaign of Lynette Campbell and Marjorie Wilson to save Australia's
kangaroos includes an orphanage where they rear Eastern Greys and
release them back into the wild.

St. Lawrence River Beluga Whales
— Over the past 100 years, the beluga whale population has been
decimated by whaling, pollution and a misunderstanding. Scientist
Robert Michaud has devoted his career to protecting these endangered
species.